We have had an amazing experience in China. Through our travels we have seen places that most will not. Met people that we will never forget. Lived in a culture that rarely opens itself to outsiders. Being affiliated with the school has afforded us the opportunity to cross cultural boundaries and enter into the private lives of the Chinese students and teachers along with the surrounding culture. Our travels have opened our eyes to the world beyond our home town and with that we thank the beautiful people we have met and are so incredible gracious for they have provided us with a lifetime of memories.
One quick story before I sign off of this blog. We had an incredible good bye party this evening followed by dinner at a restaurant that was located in the middle of a pond. The ambiance was fantastic. The wooden huts were connected with bridges. Schools of carp swarmed around the edges of the walkways looking for handouts. I do want to share however that the food challenged us. The owner of the restaurant was dining with us and had ordered everything that could possibly be on the menu. We as good guests tried everything. The food included green bean jello, tofu/egg squares, cold chicken, pork and peppers, green beans, shrimp grilled with tea leaves, dove (including the heads), pork and potatoes cooked in a bamboo log, and a heaping plate of vegetables covered in cashews. I was trying the last dish when I chopped down on something that was squishy. An overwhelming sensation occurred in my mouth. I was salivating profusely and swallowed quickly. I politely shared that I was extremely full and placed my chopsticks down across my plate. I HAD EATEN A SNAIL!!! Just writing about it brings back the taste of earth/salt/paste/slime/........ (All in a single mouthful!)
Snail issue aside, we have had an absolutely phenomenal time in China and this experience has reinforced that we are all the same, we just live on different continents. Our students have formed lasting friendships and have vowed to return to this wonderful land. Freeman asked "How flat is our world?" Skyping as enabled us to form relationships with people on the other side of our world. We leave China with a more worldly sense of self and a passion for a culture that was nonexistent prior to this journey. Thank you to the people of China!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Birthday Boy
It is Wednesday morning and we were greeted by rain cascading into our open air patios. The air was cool and quiet. The sounds from crickets and frogs filled the sky. We are to attend a painting class this morning followed by a visit to Mr. Chen's wife's middle school. She too is an administrator, but her school is much smaller with only 2000 students. According to Yuki, her school is only 3 years old and absolutely stunning.
At about 8:30am the decision was made that we would not visit the school due to the rain. There was a fear of flooding and after our last experience in the typhoon, I am perfectly fine with canceling. I have been taught that in the Chinese culture, people that do not make promises. They made suggestions and allude to things but unlike Americans, who would make a plan and pretty much stick to it, the Chinese are much more flexible in their planning. We have had several variations to our original schedule, which is not a problem due to the lack of other items on our agendas while in China. It is just different from how we are used to operating. As Americans, we like to know what we are doing and when.
Today is going to be a fairly low key day. The students are planning a big birthday party for one of our students. He is having a terrific birthday. He is actually having two birthdays. One in China and then we are celebrating one again for his birthday in America. Yesterday, we went to a noodle shop for dinner where we were able to see the chef make the noodles from scratch. The Chinese students felt that the meal was expensive 10 Yuan ($1.50 USD) per person. If they only knew that the plate of pasta that we consumed would be about $15 in the US. Nevertheless, we had a great time at dinner and the birthday boy was honored. Mr. Feng brought up a birthday cake in the evening and we celebrated a small birthday party with a few Chinese students. The night ended in a cake fight with whipped cream and sponge cake smeared over everyones' faces. There was so much laughter and fun. The birthday boy received many gifts from his new Chinese friends. He was even graced with a green pea ice cream bar from one of his US travel mates, who actually thought she was buying green tea ice cream (the birthday boy's favorite). The birthday boy was so brave. He ate the green ice cream stating that it tasted like leaves. All in the name of birthdays. :)
The traveling is beginning to catch up with everyone. We are sleeping much more than when we originally arrived. Naps are taken advantage of, as are, early bedtimes. Today will be a good day to sleep due to our plans being cancelled. Right now the birthday boy is sound asleep! It has been a nice birthday. :)
At about 8:30am the decision was made that we would not visit the school due to the rain. There was a fear of flooding and after our last experience in the typhoon, I am perfectly fine with canceling. I have been taught that in the Chinese culture, people that do not make promises. They made suggestions and allude to things but unlike Americans, who would make a plan and pretty much stick to it, the Chinese are much more flexible in their planning. We have had several variations to our original schedule, which is not a problem due to the lack of other items on our agendas while in China. It is just different from how we are used to operating. As Americans, we like to know what we are doing and when.
Today is going to be a fairly low key day. The students are planning a big birthday party for one of our students. He is having a terrific birthday. He is actually having two birthdays. One in China and then we are celebrating one again for his birthday in America. Yesterday, we went to a noodle shop for dinner where we were able to see the chef make the noodles from scratch. The Chinese students felt that the meal was expensive 10 Yuan ($1.50 USD) per person. If they only knew that the plate of pasta that we consumed would be about $15 in the US. Nevertheless, we had a great time at dinner and the birthday boy was honored. Mr. Feng brought up a birthday cake in the evening and we celebrated a small birthday party with a few Chinese students. The night ended in a cake fight with whipped cream and sponge cake smeared over everyones' faces. There was so much laughter and fun. The birthday boy received many gifts from his new Chinese friends. He was even graced with a green pea ice cream bar from one of his US travel mates, who actually thought she was buying green tea ice cream (the birthday boy's favorite). The birthday boy was so brave. He ate the green ice cream stating that it tasted like leaves. All in the name of birthdays. :)
The traveling is beginning to catch up with everyone. We are sleeping much more than when we originally arrived. Naps are taken advantage of, as are, early bedtimes. Today will be a good day to sleep due to our plans being cancelled. Right now the birthday boy is sound asleep! It has been a nice birthday. :)
Monday, April 21, 2008
A Hairy Situation
We walked to the local salon yesterday. The girls decided that they wanted to have their hair washed at a traditional Chinese hair salon. In China, having your hair washed is a very common practice. Most people do not wash their hair daily. About every other day they will go to the salon and have their hair washed, moisturized, scalp massaged, body massaged, and then hair dried and styled. The men will also get a shave.
Upon entering the salon, the bustling establishment went completely silent. All eyes were focused on the six foreigners that had crossed the store threshold. Yuki began giving orders to the employees, that the girls wanted to have a 20 Yuan ($2.50 USD) hair washing and massage. (This was a pretty expensive hair washing in Chinese standards) The salon workers began to shuffle around and clear beds. I know that sounds unusual that you lay on a bed and not sit in a chair but the hair washing experience lasts approximately 30 minutes. The shampoo is the first to be applied, this is followed by conditioner and then oils to provide vitality to the hair. After the washing is completed, the salon employee then begins a full body massage. Giggles began to erupt from our girls. They were all ticklish and would break out into laughter.
The boys hung back initially until they made sure it was safe. Once all of the girls were lathered up and relaxed, the boys decided to join the hair washing experience. Before long, their eyes were closed and they were completely relaxed as the shampoo girls washed their hair.
After all was washed, conditioned and rinsed, came the blow drying. The locks of hair shimmered from the treatment. One of the boys did not want his hair dried. The Chinese stylist at this salon tended to pull out the curl in the hair and he had big brown curls that were already struggling to maintain their shape due to the extensive conditioning and oil treatment they had received.
As we were leaving, Yuki shared that this was the first time that anyone in that salon had every worked on a white person's hair. We take for granted that we are the oddity here. This was a unique experience for all parties involved.
Upon entering the salon, the bustling establishment went completely silent. All eyes were focused on the six foreigners that had crossed the store threshold. Yuki began giving orders to the employees, that the girls wanted to have a 20 Yuan ($2.50 USD) hair washing and massage. (This was a pretty expensive hair washing in Chinese standards) The salon workers began to shuffle around and clear beds. I know that sounds unusual that you lay on a bed and not sit in a chair but the hair washing experience lasts approximately 30 minutes. The shampoo is the first to be applied, this is followed by conditioner and then oils to provide vitality to the hair. After the washing is completed, the salon employee then begins a full body massage. Giggles began to erupt from our girls. They were all ticklish and would break out into laughter.
The boys hung back initially until they made sure it was safe. Once all of the girls were lathered up and relaxed, the boys decided to join the hair washing experience. Before long, their eyes were closed and they were completely relaxed as the shampoo girls washed their hair.
After all was washed, conditioned and rinsed, came the blow drying. The locks of hair shimmered from the treatment. One of the boys did not want his hair dried. The Chinese stylist at this salon tended to pull out the curl in the hair and he had big brown curls that were already struggling to maintain their shape due to the extensive conditioning and oil treatment they had received.
As we were leaving, Yuki shared that this was the first time that anyone in that salon had every worked on a white person's hair. We take for granted that we are the oddity here. This was a unique experience for all parties involved.
A bowl before history was written
We explored a museum on one of our trips and were able to experience artifacts from China's vast history. Some of the objects were 200 to 300 hundred years old. We then entered a section of the museum that held artifacts that were over 1000 years old. Passing one area, Mr. Gao stated that the bowl on display was 5000 years old. I was pretty impressed due to American history traces back a little over 200 years, that of course is not inclusive of the Native Americans historical contribution to our history. The next artifact was a bowl that was dated 8000 years old. My level of impressedness (if this could be a word) shot through the roof. Like a good tourist, I grab a photo opp and cannot wait to share it with those at home. The final bowl in the museum looked like an enormous clam shell. Mr. Gao shared that this bowl dates back to before Chinese history was written. That was absolutely amazing. To be in the same room as something that has been around that long is pretty humbling.
My eyes are wide open to the opportunities that this Language Exchange Program can grant our students. I am so incredibly thankful to be a part of this trip and in the company of such incredible young people.
My eyes are wide open to the opportunities that this Language Exchange Program can grant our students. I am so incredibly thankful to be a part of this trip and in the company of such incredible young people.
Education in China
What I have learned about the Chinese education system has made me even more thankful to be an American. In China, the goal of a student is to go to college. The family will pour all of their money into ensuring that the child will go to college. At the end of their middle level education, students take an exam. This exam determines their future. If they score high they go to a good academic college. If they do not score high, they then go to a vocational school. The vocational school offers one more opportunity to attend college. If you are a gifted artist or craftsmen, you can possibly go to college on that route but again the competition is fierce. To attend college from the art track, you have to produce a single piece of art in a specific amount of time. Failure to do so at the level of proficiency deemed exceptional, results in no further education and the entry into the world of work. As the program coordinator said "Life in China is hard for those without an education."
The high school that we are visiting works very hard to prepare students to have one more shot at college. The faculty however is also very realistic and with that they place great emphasis on being a good citizen after high school. The faculty teach one to two classes per day and the each class has 50 to 60 students.
Collaborative learning is not part of the pedagogical practices here. We have opened their eyes to a new way of teaching. In China, the teacher is the disseminator of knowledge and the students are the passive recipients of the information. Parents and students follow the rules of the school and do not challenge the authority. Parents want to please the school in the event that there may be an opportunity for their children to be placed into a college option.
The teachers here are absolutely fascinated by our collaborative activities. They were amazed that learning can be fun and that the students could smile during the learning process. The faculty is so eager to change. The teachers want to know how we knew to bring in the learning games and where they could find such information. I shared that I would email English Language Learner websites to them and they were so incredibly excited. Several teachers have asked that I continue to email them for they want to change their style of teaching to improve the level of learning that is occurring in their classrooms.
This experience has opened my eyes to how advanced our school system and our educational system truly is and how we should work to continue to open lines of communication with other countries. From our time here, we have impacted not only the students currently enrolled but we will continue to make a difference in the learning of students to come for the teachers have seen a new and innovative way to instruct.
The high school that we are visiting works very hard to prepare students to have one more shot at college. The faculty however is also very realistic and with that they place great emphasis on being a good citizen after high school. The faculty teach one to two classes per day and the each class has 50 to 60 students.
Collaborative learning is not part of the pedagogical practices here. We have opened their eyes to a new way of teaching. In China, the teacher is the disseminator of knowledge and the students are the passive recipients of the information. Parents and students follow the rules of the school and do not challenge the authority. Parents want to please the school in the event that there may be an opportunity for their children to be placed into a college option.
The teachers here are absolutely fascinated by our collaborative activities. They were amazed that learning can be fun and that the students could smile during the learning process. The faculty is so eager to change. The teachers want to know how we knew to bring in the learning games and where they could find such information. I shared that I would email English Language Learner websites to them and they were so incredibly excited. Several teachers have asked that I continue to email them for they want to change their style of teaching to improve the level of learning that is occurring in their classrooms.
This experience has opened my eyes to how advanced our school system and our educational system truly is and how we should work to continue to open lines of communication with other countries. From our time here, we have impacted not only the students currently enrolled but we will continue to make a difference in the learning of students to come for the teachers have seen a new and innovative way to instruct.
A moment at McDonalds
As promised I will fill you in on the Mc Donalds experience, but first I have to share an incredible experience.
Sunday we toured a Chinese Temple call the West Mountain Temple. It was absolutely breath taking. The design was extremely ornate and the air was filled with the smell of incense. As we entered the temple, all in the spirit of assisting the Chinese economy, there was a trinket shop were we stopped and purchased lucky charms for our loved ones. Outside of the interior gate pictures were allowed but once in the prayer area, no pictures were permitted and there were many police regulating the praying.
We made our way around the temple complex and took many pictures by a 200 year old tree that produces two different type of leaves. It was a hybrid of some sort but enormous none the less. At the back of the complex, we peeked into a building and were greeted by a monk. He allowed us to take a picture with him. It was the neatest experience. I only hope that one day the students will understand the significance of having had our picture taken with a monk. I am so incredibly thrilled. At the completion of the pictures, a procession of monks came from around the corner. They were chanting and playing drums and gongs. Following the monks came another procession of elder women shroud in brown robes. These women were called the temple citizens. I asked why there were only women in the group and I was told that these women had the time to commit to being in that role. I was thinking it was probably because all of the men were around the corner drinking old man tea and playing Chinese checkers so the women had to do something to occupy their time. I was just saying... :)
Anyway, we followed the procession into the temple and were able to watch a ceremony. It was filled with song, incense and music. The colors of red (good luck) and yellow (not sure) filled the temple. At the base of the worship area were cages willed with swallows that were to be released at the end of the ceremony. We unfortunately were not able to stay the entire time because we had shopping to do. We did, however, purchase some incense and prayed to our gods in the prayer courtyard.
Then began the shopping.... We shopped for what felt like hours. We did experience one scare. At least it was a scare for me. I don't think the students had a clue. We went into this indoor market that was lined with vendors. The environment was congested and loud. The teachers that were with us had assigned buddy students with all of our kids. It still was overwhelming and I was very uncomfortable because I could not keep an eye on all my students in the chaos. Mr. Gao saw that I was getting agitated and rallied the troops into a retreat out of the market. Phew, I was much better. Later, Mr. Gao shared that there are a lot of thieves in that marketplace. Nice, just what we need. A mugging in China! I am so glad we left that area. We proceeded to an open shopping area which we could equate to Zona Rosa but not as nice. Our students had a blast shopping, shopping and more shopping.
At the end of the shopping strip was a Mc Donalds. It looked just like our Mc Donalds at home except the menu was in Chinese and the vegetables that come on your sandwich are carrots and cabbage. I had a spicy chicken sandwich which I believe had been spiced up with peppers from the Hunan area. It was the hottest chicken sandwich that I have ever experienced. I broke into a sweat eating and the gulped down a huge mouthful of Pepsi before I realized....there is ice in the soda. I asked Yuki to find out how they prepare the ice. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. The last thing that needed to happen is that I go down with stomach issues due to consuming ice. Yuki alleviated my fear by clarifying that the ice is prepared from distilled water. With that information I finished the drink and got another. So, any stomach issues will result from consuming soda for the first time in two weeks. The Chinese students love Mc Donalds but know that the food is not good for them. They actually like the french fries more than the sandwiches. Interesting how American food is corrupting all of our children. Maybe the blog should be How fat is our world???
Sunday we toured a Chinese Temple call the West Mountain Temple. It was absolutely breath taking. The design was extremely ornate and the air was filled with the smell of incense. As we entered the temple, all in the spirit of assisting the Chinese economy, there was a trinket shop were we stopped and purchased lucky charms for our loved ones. Outside of the interior gate pictures were allowed but once in the prayer area, no pictures were permitted and there were many police regulating the praying.
We made our way around the temple complex and took many pictures by a 200 year old tree that produces two different type of leaves. It was a hybrid of some sort but enormous none the less. At the back of the complex, we peeked into a building and were greeted by a monk. He allowed us to take a picture with him. It was the neatest experience. I only hope that one day the students will understand the significance of having had our picture taken with a monk. I am so incredibly thrilled. At the completion of the pictures, a procession of monks came from around the corner. They were chanting and playing drums and gongs. Following the monks came another procession of elder women shroud in brown robes. These women were called the temple citizens. I asked why there were only women in the group and I was told that these women had the time to commit to being in that role. I was thinking it was probably because all of the men were around the corner drinking old man tea and playing Chinese checkers so the women had to do something to occupy their time. I was just saying... :)
Anyway, we followed the procession into the temple and were able to watch a ceremony. It was filled with song, incense and music. The colors of red (good luck) and yellow (not sure) filled the temple. At the base of the worship area were cages willed with swallows that were to be released at the end of the ceremony. We unfortunately were not able to stay the entire time because we had shopping to do. We did, however, purchase some incense and prayed to our gods in the prayer courtyard.
Then began the shopping.... We shopped for what felt like hours. We did experience one scare. At least it was a scare for me. I don't think the students had a clue. We went into this indoor market that was lined with vendors. The environment was congested and loud. The teachers that were with us had assigned buddy students with all of our kids. It still was overwhelming and I was very uncomfortable because I could not keep an eye on all my students in the chaos. Mr. Gao saw that I was getting agitated and rallied the troops into a retreat out of the market. Phew, I was much better. Later, Mr. Gao shared that there are a lot of thieves in that marketplace. Nice, just what we need. A mugging in China! I am so glad we left that area. We proceeded to an open shopping area which we could equate to Zona Rosa but not as nice. Our students had a blast shopping, shopping and more shopping.
At the end of the shopping strip was a Mc Donalds. It looked just like our Mc Donalds at home except the menu was in Chinese and the vegetables that come on your sandwich are carrots and cabbage. I had a spicy chicken sandwich which I believe had been spiced up with peppers from the Hunan area. It was the hottest chicken sandwich that I have ever experienced. I broke into a sweat eating and the gulped down a huge mouthful of Pepsi before I realized....there is ice in the soda. I asked Yuki to find out how they prepare the ice. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. The last thing that needed to happen is that I go down with stomach issues due to consuming ice. Yuki alleviated my fear by clarifying that the ice is prepared from distilled water. With that information I finished the drink and got another. So, any stomach issues will result from consuming soda for the first time in two weeks. The Chinese students love Mc Donalds but know that the food is not good for them. They actually like the french fries more than the sandwiches. Interesting how American food is corrupting all of our children. Maybe the blog should be How fat is our world???
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Raining Whales and Elephants
We spent Saturday touring the memorial park of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, the father of China. The scenery was beautiful but the weather was becoming a bit sketchy. Rain began to fall about 11:00am and the winds began to pick up. We (Headmaster Chen, Assistant Headmaster Feng, the students and myself) then went to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's home and toured. The home was mini-complex with meeting rooms, dining rooms, bathing rooms, outdoor bathroom, and much much more. The history of this man is quite fascinating. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen was a very influential man in China. He played a key role in uniting China. His wife was very wealthy and became the Vice-President. ( this is the history as relayed by our program coordinator). My knowledge of China is very limited but growing daily. It is a country rich with history and rooted in traditions. I have been extremely impressed.
Mr. Chen took us to a lovely restaurant in the mountains. The seating area opened up to a beautiful view of a fishing pond and the lush greenery of the mountains. At this time the rain was beginning to pick up at this point. I said to one of the students that we have never seen rain like this. The program coordinator turned to me and said "Yes, it is raining whales and elephants." I asked him if he meant cats and dogs and he indicated that that was about an hour ago. We are on to whales and elephants now. The meal was incredible. We dined on chicken, duck, fish and pork. We consumed steamed spinach, tufo, and broccoli. This meal was a surprise birthday party for me. After we had eaten, the song Happy Birthday began to boom from the stereo system and a beautiful birthday cake was brought to the table. It was covered w/ fresh pineapples, kiwi, and berries. I later learned that the cake had to be brought in from another town because the town that we are staying in does not have a cake shop. I was very impressed and surprised. The students were pretty tickled. They knew about it all along. Turkies!
After the dinning, we went to the hot springs. The students swam in pools of steaming water. It is always refreshing to be with children. They can make friends with anyone. Our five students were swimming and playing and eight Chinese teenagers swam over and were trying to swim with our students. Now mind you, we do have two fine swimmers from our swim team on this trip so they were teaching the Chinese teens the butterfly stroke, the breast stroke, and how to do handstands in the water. The pool was filled with laughter and smiles. I was not swimming. I was braving the weather. Did I forget for mention that the typhoon had hit. The rain was pouring down at a much more dramatic rate. As a matter of fact, they were predicting 20 inches of rain with this typhoon. Nervous yet?
After standing in the rain and wind for about 40 minutes, Yuki and I decided to go to a small shelter that overlooked the hot springs and have afternoon tea. Yes, I was enjoying hot tea with milk, while eating bread and mango jelly, in the MIDDLE OF A TYPHOON!!!!. It is almost too funny to share.
The hot springs ended with a bit of a scare. One of our students, how has low blood sugar, got a bit overheated and became extremely faint. All of could think of is, I am in China and I have a student that is going down! Oh boy this is going to be a good phone call home. I requested that the servers bring orange juice. The came with freshly squeezed orange juice adorned a little pretty pink umbrella. I wanted to laugh. You stopped to put an umbrella in the drink!!! Do you know I have to call her parents!!!!!! Needless to say the OJ brought her back. Thank god for the First Aid Classes! After the initial crisis was diverted we headed back to the school.
The rain was coming down in horizontal sheets. I have never in my lifetime seen such rain. It was pouring off the hills like waterfalls and splashing onto the road. We could not open the windows in the van because the rain would drench us. As we were progressing towards the school the water was rising in the roads. Cars were creeping by with the water half way up the tires. We were about 15 minutes from the school and the van stalled out. I was trying to be brave but my heart was in my throat. We sat in the road while the driver revvd the engine for about 5 minutes trying to push the water out of the system. I had the students roll down the windows due to the fumes that were accumulating in the van. I weighed our options of getting wet or suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. I chose wet. The driver received a roaring ovation when he got the van working and was able to get us across town. We pulled up to the shopping center across the street from the school entry way. The van could not make it across due to the water. Our interpreter said we were going to have to walk.
We poured into the torrential rain, hauling umbrellas, bags and other trinkets we had purchased and crossed the road in calf deep water while bracing ourselves against the winds. I know you are thinking, did this really happen, but let me assure you that all six of us will vouch that we had quite a wet day. Once crossing the street, we made our way up the alley to the school gates. We walked back to our dorm and changed into dry clothes. The winds were beginning to die down and the rain was lessening. About an hour later, the air was cool and the rain had stopped.
Because it is the weekend the dorms and kitchen were closed. Most of the students travel home for the weekend. Dinner was brought in from a very unique dining establishment called KFC. Our students were so excited. They consumed an amazing quantity of food. It was a little taste of home in the orient. Apparently, KFC is considered quite a delicacy here, along with, McDonalds. That is another entire story for another posting. :)
Mr. Chen took us to a lovely restaurant in the mountains. The seating area opened up to a beautiful view of a fishing pond and the lush greenery of the mountains. At this time the rain was beginning to pick up at this point. I said to one of the students that we have never seen rain like this. The program coordinator turned to me and said "Yes, it is raining whales and elephants." I asked him if he meant cats and dogs and he indicated that that was about an hour ago. We are on to whales and elephants now. The meal was incredible. We dined on chicken, duck, fish and pork. We consumed steamed spinach, tufo, and broccoli. This meal was a surprise birthday party for me. After we had eaten, the song Happy Birthday began to boom from the stereo system and a beautiful birthday cake was brought to the table. It was covered w/ fresh pineapples, kiwi, and berries. I later learned that the cake had to be brought in from another town because the town that we are staying in does not have a cake shop. I was very impressed and surprised. The students were pretty tickled. They knew about it all along. Turkies!
After the dinning, we went to the hot springs. The students swam in pools of steaming water. It is always refreshing to be with children. They can make friends with anyone. Our five students were swimming and playing and eight Chinese teenagers swam over and were trying to swim with our students. Now mind you, we do have two fine swimmers from our swim team on this trip so they were teaching the Chinese teens the butterfly stroke, the breast stroke, and how to do handstands in the water. The pool was filled with laughter and smiles. I was not swimming. I was braving the weather. Did I forget for mention that the typhoon had hit. The rain was pouring down at a much more dramatic rate. As a matter of fact, they were predicting 20 inches of rain with this typhoon. Nervous yet?
After standing in the rain and wind for about 40 minutes, Yuki and I decided to go to a small shelter that overlooked the hot springs and have afternoon tea. Yes, I was enjoying hot tea with milk, while eating bread and mango jelly, in the MIDDLE OF A TYPHOON!!!!. It is almost too funny to share.
The hot springs ended with a bit of a scare. One of our students, how has low blood sugar, got a bit overheated and became extremely faint. All of could think of is, I am in China and I have a student that is going down! Oh boy this is going to be a good phone call home. I requested that the servers bring orange juice. The came with freshly squeezed orange juice adorned a little pretty pink umbrella. I wanted to laugh. You stopped to put an umbrella in the drink!!! Do you know I have to call her parents!!!!!! Needless to say the OJ brought her back. Thank god for the First Aid Classes! After the initial crisis was diverted we headed back to the school.
The rain was coming down in horizontal sheets. I have never in my lifetime seen such rain. It was pouring off the hills like waterfalls and splashing onto the road. We could not open the windows in the van because the rain would drench us. As we were progressing towards the school the water was rising in the roads. Cars were creeping by with the water half way up the tires. We were about 15 minutes from the school and the van stalled out. I was trying to be brave but my heart was in my throat. We sat in the road while the driver revvd the engine for about 5 minutes trying to push the water out of the system. I had the students roll down the windows due to the fumes that were accumulating in the van. I weighed our options of getting wet or suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. I chose wet. The driver received a roaring ovation when he got the van working and was able to get us across town. We pulled up to the shopping center across the street from the school entry way. The van could not make it across due to the water. Our interpreter said we were going to have to walk.
We poured into the torrential rain, hauling umbrellas, bags and other trinkets we had purchased and crossed the road in calf deep water while bracing ourselves against the winds. I know you are thinking, did this really happen, but let me assure you that all six of us will vouch that we had quite a wet day. Once crossing the street, we made our way up the alley to the school gates. We walked back to our dorm and changed into dry clothes. The winds were beginning to die down and the rain was lessening. About an hour later, the air was cool and the rain had stopped.
Because it is the weekend the dorms and kitchen were closed. Most of the students travel home for the weekend. Dinner was brought in from a very unique dining establishment called KFC. Our students were so excited. They consumed an amazing quantity of food. It was a little taste of home in the orient. Apparently, KFC is considered quite a delicacy here, along with, McDonalds. That is another entire story for another posting. :)
Friday, April 18, 2008
Market Day
Today (Friday) we attended the Fair Market. This was a phenomenal experience. The school sent one-on-one escorts with us. At first, I did not understand why so many school personnel, mostly teachers, were coming but once we arrived, I got it. The market was congested and maze-like. Vendors were butted up to one another and one could easily get turned around and lost. Vagabonds and beggars were abound in the market. The teachers were like hawks. Watching everything that was occurring around us. If someone strayed to far they were roped back in and if someone from the market got to close, they were scolded and sent away. We were instructed to not purchase a thing without being advised on the price. Their bartering skills were superb.
The vendors at the market sold jewelry, clothing, shoes, mattresses (wooden or bamboo mats), purses, flowers, toys and much, much more. Prices ranged from 2 Yuan ($.30) to 600 Yuan ($90). I spent a total of 70 Yuan ($10) and have taken care of many fun gifts for family and friends.
We dined at a noodle restaurant. I do want to share that we were greeted at our table by a VERY LARGE COCKROACH! After we got over the initial shock and decided that it was going to be ok, we started our meal with hot tea. The teachers ordered the food. We tried flat noodles, thin noodles, medium noodles, tofu noodles, hot noodles, and spicy noodles. My favorite noodle dish had a tomato base. (Very similar to spaghetti but not as much sauce). We also had small pita bread that was filled with pork and fried, steamed cucumbers and seaweed, and pickled peppers and carrots. The teachers were so incredibly generous. They bought our lunch and then escorted us to a few more stores.
We finished the afternoon with down-time. We put in an Uptown Girls DVD and to our surprise the language was not English even though one of the students had brought the DVD from home. Our closest option was Spanish. We then decided to select English subtitles for the film. The students began to drop like flies. Mid-way through the film, I looked around and found that I was really the only one watching the movie. Off went the cinematic masterpiece.
We are to end our evening going to the walking strip. This is a shopping area close to the school. I will be purchasing an umbrella, for today I was informed that a typhoon is headed our way. Typhoons are hurricanes. Typhoon is the term used in Asian countries. Regarding our safety, we are far enough from the ocean that flooding will not be a concern. We will receive torrential rain and heavy winds. I was informed that the winds can get to 100 miles per hour. The storm should be settling in about Sunday. Gao (a teacher) indicated that the rains will most likely change our plans for Sunday. We will remain on campus and rest. Not a problem. We are all pretty tired. We are struggling to nap during the day. The campus closes down for 2 hours and everyone (even the teachers) sleep from 12 to 2. Not the Americans!!! We are ripping and running. Our behavior is catching up to us.
The vendors at the market sold jewelry, clothing, shoes, mattresses (wooden or bamboo mats), purses, flowers, toys and much, much more. Prices ranged from 2 Yuan ($.30) to 600 Yuan ($90). I spent a total of 70 Yuan ($10) and have taken care of many fun gifts for family and friends.
We dined at a noodle restaurant. I do want to share that we were greeted at our table by a VERY LARGE COCKROACH! After we got over the initial shock and decided that it was going to be ok, we started our meal with hot tea. The teachers ordered the food. We tried flat noodles, thin noodles, medium noodles, tofu noodles, hot noodles, and spicy noodles. My favorite noodle dish had a tomato base. (Very similar to spaghetti but not as much sauce). We also had small pita bread that was filled with pork and fried, steamed cucumbers and seaweed, and pickled peppers and carrots. The teachers were so incredibly generous. They bought our lunch and then escorted us to a few more stores.
We finished the afternoon with down-time. We put in an Uptown Girls DVD and to our surprise the language was not English even though one of the students had brought the DVD from home. Our closest option was Spanish. We then decided to select English subtitles for the film. The students began to drop like flies. Mid-way through the film, I looked around and found that I was really the only one watching the movie. Off went the cinematic masterpiece.
We are to end our evening going to the walking strip. This is a shopping area close to the school. I will be purchasing an umbrella, for today I was informed that a typhoon is headed our way. Typhoons are hurricanes. Typhoon is the term used in Asian countries. Regarding our safety, we are far enough from the ocean that flooding will not be a concern. We will receive torrential rain and heavy winds. I was informed that the winds can get to 100 miles per hour. The storm should be settling in about Sunday. Gao (a teacher) indicated that the rains will most likely change our plans for Sunday. We will remain on campus and rest. Not a problem. We are all pretty tired. We are struggling to nap during the day. The campus closes down for 2 hours and everyone (even the teachers) sleep from 12 to 2. Not the Americans!!! We are ripping and running. Our behavior is catching up to us.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
"Tea" rrific
I am going to make an attempt to explain the rich experiences that have taken place in the last two day.
The following day (Wednesday) was sweltering. We escaped the heat by staying within the air conditioned conference room and planning the lessons that we were going to teach the students. We chose to teach about American holidays. Our choices centered on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Easter. We had so much fun. We broke the students into four groups and then conducted the lessons. We rotated the students through the different holiday lessons and they made ornaments for Christmas, wrote thankful cards for Thanksgiving, told scary stories for Halloween and engaged in an Easter egg hunt for Easter.
It was really quite amazing. The traditional Chinese classroom is very orderly. The teacher is the giver of knowledge and the students are passive recipients. We came in and created chaos. First we broke the class into groups, then we had the students move out of their chairs, and half stayed in the classroom in two different locations and the other two groups of students were taken outside (something that is never done...I found out later...oops). There was so much laughter and eagerness to engage in American learning. The teacher Fang said she had never seen her students so excited and active in lessons before. The teachers were a bit nervous when we started our lessons because the learning looked so different from their normal teaching but in the end, they too were smiling as the students participated in the activities. Fang asked us to come back to the classroom to teach another lessons. Our students were absolutely terrific. They were patient with the language barrier and handled awkward questions and moments skillfully. Kudos to them for being so awesome.
We ended our day on another home visit. This time we visited Rikki's (English name). She is a junior in the school. Rikki's family resides in what is called the country. To us, we would consider it to be the city. Her home was about an hour away from the school. To enter her home, we were buzzed into the entry here there were two motorcycles parked. This was the garage. We then ascended two flights of stairs and entered a beautiful home. Again, there was an entire wall dedicated to honoring the ancestors and the house was filled with the color red. Again, we served orange juice and fruit. This time we ate oranges. The students and I then moved to the dining room table where we were taught to make dumplings, like yesterday except these were to be boiled. Boiled dumplings are called WonTons.
It is very common to make the dinner together. The guests are honored in this process. The students and I made 300 WonTons. We, too, were shocked that we were going to make that many. However, with true dedication, we persevered. Three hundred won tons later, we began karaoke. We had so much fun. We sang children's songs such as Mary Had a Little Lamb and Bingo.
The meal was tremendous. The WonTons were filled with pork and then boiled. They were then served in the broth. I struggled with the vegetable. We were served boiled lettuce. That was a tough one for me but I ate enough to be polite.
After we ate, we shopped. On the way to the shopping center, we stopped by an artisan's shop. This artist was the town's famous writer. In China, to be a writer of Chinese characters is a rare skill. This individual is renowned within the town. We all had the opportunity to write our names on a scroll and then the writer created a work of art specifically for me with my name and role. This is a gift that I will always treasure.
After shopping in many little store we made our way back to Rikki's home for more karaoke. American Idol has nothing on our singing! We were so amazing, many of our songs would end with rolls of laughter. The host shut down our show around 8:00pm in order to head back to the school.
As you know, Tuesday ended with a family visit to Kit's house. Her family lives in the same town as the school, about fifteen minutes away. I learned that in China, there are many differences in the structure of the communities. In the United States, we have states, counties, cities, and towns. In China, there are provinces, within the provinces there are cities and then within the cities there are towns. The towns touch each other and they comprise the city. For our visit on Thursday, we will travel through four towns but stayed in the city the entire time. (I know confusing.)
We arrived at her home and were greeted by her entire family. Kit's home was encased with tradition. One entire wall in the living room was dedicated to the ancestors. On this shrine stood the lucky Buddha. In the Chinese culture, the fat face of the Buddha and the children climbing upon him represent good luck and fertility. Beside the door was an wall hanging with a goddess that protects the home. The color red was everywhere. Red is representative of happiness. Directly in the middle of the room loomed a 46 inch flat screen TV with football (soccer) filling the screen. (Different from your home? Not by much!)
Mom, dad, older sister, and grandma reside in the home. The furnishings were sparse for American standards but the quality of the pieces indicated that Kit's family was fairly well-established within the community. We sat in the living room and were served orange juice and fruit. This apparently is customary in the Chinese culture. Guests are greeted with hot tea and fresh fruit. The fruit we consumed included bananas, pea pas (related to mangoes), and sugar cane. The sugar cane was an adventure. (To eat fresh sugar cane - bite directly into the cane and tear off a piece. Suck out the juice while chewing the reed. The juice is sweet like sugar. Spit out the reed and repeat). We were a little nervous to eat the fruit due to being cautious but were in a situation that to refuse would have been considered disrespectful. We charged through hoping for positive results later. (YIKES...Cross you fingers for us!)
We were invited to join the women outside to prepare fried chicken wings, fried pork, and to make pork dumplings. These dumplings are fried in light oil. Once the food was prepared we sat to eat. The meal started with a rice and chicken porridge. We were encouraged to put green onions on top. Green onions are considered good for the digestion. Then came the dumplings and chicken wings. Then came sausages (hot dogs) and more dumplings and wings. This was the most sumptuous meal we have had all week. The food was outstanding. To consume a large quantity of food is considered a compliment to the cook. Well, we Americans did the USA proud. We ate a tremendous amount of food.
The meal ended and the young people left to walk around outside. The men moved to a table in the outdoor patio area. I joined the men. Tea began to flow. I was informed that I was participating in "Old Man's Tea". Apparently, in China, the old men sit around all day and drink tea from miniature tea pots all day long. The play Chinese checkers, eat peanuts and fruit and philosophize. Most of the teas that I drank were some of the best teas that I have ever consumed.
The first tea was very strong and dark. Now mind you, my tea cup was the size of about three thimbles put together. The second tea I tried was a light tea. The tea is shave from a block of tea that had been compressed for eight years. The more aged the higher the quality. The tea that I was served averaged $1000 USD per pound. I was considered a distinguished guest. The students then joined us and enjoyed the variety of teas. We wrapped our tea party up with a red tea. Now...this tea was a bit sketchy for me. The tea is fermented with yogurt and sugar. The residue is poured out and collected for consumption. The tea is considered prime when mushrooms grow on the top of the fermentation bottle. The taste can be equated to vinegar. This tea, according to the Chinese, has healing powers. The host indicated that since he had been drinking this tea, his skin had cleared from blemishes. All I know is that I just drank something that came from a bottle filled with mushrooms.
I loved the old man's tea. The sense of relaxation and peace that came from the evening was startling. I am understanding the culture to be one rooted in a slow pace and in social activities. Meals are about stopping and enjoying the people with which you are dining. Meals can take hours. A very different experience from our culture.
The following day (Wednesday) was sweltering. We escaped the heat by staying within the air conditioned conference room and planning the lessons that we were going to teach the students. We chose to teach about American holidays. Our choices centered on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Easter. We had so much fun. We broke the students into four groups and then conducted the lessons. We rotated the students through the different holiday lessons and they made ornaments for Christmas, wrote thankful cards for Thanksgiving, told scary stories for Halloween and engaged in an Easter egg hunt for Easter.
It was really quite amazing. The traditional Chinese classroom is very orderly. The teacher is the giver of knowledge and the students are passive recipients. We came in and created chaos. First we broke the class into groups, then we had the students move out of their chairs, and half stayed in the classroom in two different locations and the other two groups of students were taken outside (something that is never done...I found out later...oops). There was so much laughter and eagerness to engage in American learning. The teacher Fang said she had never seen her students so excited and active in lessons before. The teachers were a bit nervous when we started our lessons because the learning looked so different from their normal teaching but in the end, they too were smiling as the students participated in the activities. Fang asked us to come back to the classroom to teach another lessons. Our students were absolutely terrific. They were patient with the language barrier and handled awkward questions and moments skillfully. Kudos to them for being so awesome.
We ended our day on another home visit. This time we visited Rikki's (English name). She is a junior in the school. Rikki's family resides in what is called the country. To us, we would consider it to be the city. Her home was about an hour away from the school. To enter her home, we were buzzed into the entry here there were two motorcycles parked. This was the garage. We then ascended two flights of stairs and entered a beautiful home. Again, there was an entire wall dedicated to honoring the ancestors and the house was filled with the color red. Again, we served orange juice and fruit. This time we ate oranges. The students and I then moved to the dining room table where we were taught to make dumplings, like yesterday except these were to be boiled. Boiled dumplings are called WonTons.
It is very common to make the dinner together. The guests are honored in this process. The students and I made 300 WonTons. We, too, were shocked that we were going to make that many. However, with true dedication, we persevered. Three hundred won tons later, we began karaoke. We had so much fun. We sang children's songs such as Mary Had a Little Lamb and Bingo.
The meal was tremendous. The WonTons were filled with pork and then boiled. They were then served in the broth. I struggled with the vegetable. We were served boiled lettuce. That was a tough one for me but I ate enough to be polite.
After we ate, we shopped. On the way to the shopping center, we stopped by an artisan's shop. This artist was the town's famous writer. In China, to be a writer of Chinese characters is a rare skill. This individual is renowned within the town. We all had the opportunity to write our names on a scroll and then the writer created a work of art specifically for me with my name and role. This is a gift that I will always treasure.
After shopping in many little store we made our way back to Rikki's home for more karaoke. American Idol has nothing on our singing! We were so amazing, many of our songs would end with rolls of laughter. The host shut down our show around 8:00pm in order to head back to the school.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
There is no difference in people
We have had an amazing day of sharing. We spent the entire morning in a drawing class where even I (a non-drawer) was made to feel that I had talent. The art class was comprised of over 50 students. This is a normal class size. The students were grouped into four areas and all drawing a still life (all very different - an arrangement of leaves, an arrangement of pottery, a glass and a bottle, and an arrangement of vases). The work was absolutely amazing. The students have two days to create a finished work of art and that is all they do in their lessons for those two days. My understanding is that the art students, in order to go to a college, will have one opportunity to show that they can create a work of art. Their final exam consists of one drawing that they create on site. Their score on this work of art is the determinate of their future. The intensity of the focus and the product result is evidence of their passion for learning after high school.
The art teacher, like many of her peers in other content areas, wears a microphone for projection purposes. With 50 to 60 students, projection of the voice can be a challenge. Classroom management is fairly tricky but the students, for the most part, are on task and focused due to the level of accountability to their final test. We were provided with a variety of gifts from the art students and are going to be painting with more in the afternoon. We will also be creating toys with the students. All of these activities are part of the Chinese art curriculum. I am excited to bring home examples to share with our art teachers.
The content areas in this school encompass business, fashion design and production, automotive repair, computer technology, and academics. Students are taught a skill that they can then use to become a productive member of society. Those that have the top skills are eligible to compete for a spot at the college level but the competition is fierce. Only 6% of Chinese students attend post-secondary education and most of this population is strictly for academia.
Our day of learning will end w/ a home visit where we will make rice dumplings with a student's family from the school. It is fun to be a part of such a phenomenal experience. One of the teachers said to me that "The children are not different at all. They do not get involved in the politics and are eager to learn for one another." I agree with this teacher. Our students and the Chinese students have been the depiction of friendship. Every interaction is accompanied with laughter, smiles and learning. The Chinese students cannot get enough information from our students and they are so incredibly considerate. Pleasing their guests is the primary mode of operation.
The generosity and the graciousness of our host school has been overwhelming. We want for naught.
The art teacher, like many of her peers in other content areas, wears a microphone for projection purposes. With 50 to 60 students, projection of the voice can be a challenge. Classroom management is fairly tricky but the students, for the most part, are on task and focused due to the level of accountability to their final test. We were provided with a variety of gifts from the art students and are going to be painting with more in the afternoon. We will also be creating toys with the students. All of these activities are part of the Chinese art curriculum. I am excited to bring home examples to share with our art teachers.
The content areas in this school encompass business, fashion design and production, automotive repair, computer technology, and academics. Students are taught a skill that they can then use to become a productive member of society. Those that have the top skills are eligible to compete for a spot at the college level but the competition is fierce. Only 6% of Chinese students attend post-secondary education and most of this population is strictly for academia.
Our day of learning will end w/ a home visit where we will make rice dumplings with a student's family from the school. It is fun to be a part of such a phenomenal experience. One of the teachers said to me that "The children are not different at all. They do not get involved in the politics and are eager to learn for one another." I agree with this teacher. Our students and the Chinese students have been the depiction of friendship. Every interaction is accompanied with laughter, smiles and learning. The Chinese students cannot get enough information from our students and they are so incredibly considerate. Pleasing their guests is the primary mode of operation.
The generosity and the graciousness of our host school has been overwhelming. We want for naught.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Greeting From China
We have been in China for several days and have had some of the most amazing experiences. In two days, while touring Hong Kong, we traveled by plane, bus, van, taxi, tram, subway, ferry, and on foot. We climbed along the trails of Victoria's Peak and then walked in the open markets in downtown Kowloon. The culture is rich with tradition and rooted in hospitality and grace. Everyone we have encountered has been so gracious and invested in making sure that our stay is comfortable.
The city of Hong Kong was extremely different from any other large city I have experienced. The land is limited and the buildings are excessively tall, towering on the mountain side at 30 to 35 floors high. Being accessible only by ferry has afforded the merchants in Hong Kong to price their goods at a very high rate. Bartering was not practiced in the stores we visited. As a matter of fact, one merchant stated "It is what it is".
The environment is beautiful with lush greenery and vibrantly colored flowers. The air is filled with birds and the hum of locus. The temperature is in the 70's and at night through the mosquito netting there is a cool breeze. Our experiences with cuisine have opened our eyes to how conservative we are with our eating habits. It is not uncommon to greet your meal on the way in and then bid farewell to it as it is delivered to your plate. The variety of vegetables surpasses any food guide that we would have in the United States. Meals are colorful and considered to be an extremely social experience. Having a dinner that lasts most of the evening is common practice.
My journey has only begun and I cannot wait to continue to share as we continue our travels.
The city of Hong Kong was extremely different from any other large city I have experienced. The land is limited and the buildings are excessively tall, towering on the mountain side at 30 to 35 floors high. Being accessible only by ferry has afforded the merchants in Hong Kong to price their goods at a very high rate. Bartering was not practiced in the stores we visited. As a matter of fact, one merchant stated "It is what it is".
The environment is beautiful with lush greenery and vibrantly colored flowers. The air is filled with birds and the hum of locus. The temperature is in the 70's and at night through the mosquito netting there is a cool breeze. Our experiences with cuisine have opened our eyes to how conservative we are with our eating habits. It is not uncommon to greet your meal on the way in and then bid farewell to it as it is delivered to your plate. The variety of vegetables surpasses any food guide that we would have in the United States. Meals are colorful and considered to be an extremely social experience. Having a dinner that lasts most of the evening is common practice.
My journey has only begun and I cannot wait to continue to share as we continue our travels.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Initiation of My Flat World Journey
It is approximately 2:00pm and I am taking the test run to show the students how to blog. This is the maiden voyage of my blogging experience. Referencing Tom Friedman's book the World is Flat, it is my intention to utilize this electronic forum to share all of our experiences on this language exchange trip to China with our school community back home. As I have never traveled to China before this is going to be an exhilarating experience. It is both my honor and privilege to escort this incredible group of young adults.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)